Why is the last week of Lent called passionate? Holy Week or Holy Week: day by day
Holy Week– the last one before . It is dedicated to the memory of the last days of earthly life: His suffering, death on the cross and burial (in the Church Slavonic language the word “passion” means “suffering”). All days of Holy Week are called great.
This week is especially honored by the Church. “All days,” it says, “exceeds the Holy and Great Pentecost, but greater than the Holy Pentecost is the Holy and Great Week (Passion), and greater than the Great Week itself is this Great and Holy Saturday. This week is called great not because its days or hours are greater (than others), but because during this week great and supernatural miracles and extraordinary deeds of our Savior took place...”
Recalling in the Divine Service the events of the last days of the Savior’s earthly life, the Saint, with an attentive eye of love and reverence, watches every step, listens to every word of the Savior coming to the free passion of Christ, gradually leads us in the footsteps of the Lord throughout His entire Way of the Cross, from Bethany to the Place of Execution , from His royal entry into Jerusalem until the last moment of His atoning suffering on the cross for human sins, and further - until the bright triumph of Christ’s Resurrection.
The first three days of this week are devoted to intensive preparation for the passion of Christ.
In accordance with the fact that Jesus Christ spent all the days before his suffering in the temple, teaching the people, the Holy Church distinguishes these days with especially long Divine services.
Trying to gather and concentrate the attention and thoughts of believers in general on the whole Gospel story the incarnation of the God-man and His service to the human race, the Holy Church reads the entire Four Gospels on the clock during the first three days of Holy Week.
IN Great Wednesday I remember the sinful wife who washed with tears and anointed the feet of the Savior with precious ointment when He was at the supper in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, and thereby prepared Christ for burial. Here Judas, through imaginary concern for the poor, revealed his love of money, and in the evening he decided to betray Christ to the Jewish elders for 30 pieces of silver (an amount sufficient at the prices of that time to purchase a small plot of land even in the vicinity of Jerusalem).
On Great Wednesday at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, according to the prayer behind the pulpit, in last time The saint's prayer is said with three great bows.
On Thursday During the Holy Week service, four most important gospel events that took place on this day are remembered: last supper, at which the Lord established the New Testament sacrament of Holy Communion (Eucharist), the Lord washing the feet of His disciples as a sign of deepest humility and love for them, the prayer of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and the betrayal of Judas.
In remembrance of the events of this day after the prayer behind the pulpit at the Liturgy in cathedrals During the bishop's service, a touching rite of washing the feet is performed, which resurrects in our memory the immeasurable condescension of the Savior, who washed the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper.
On this day, the Lord established the Sacrament of Communion, therefore all Orthodox Christians strive to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ at the Divine. Troparion of the day “When the glory of the disciple is enlightened at the thought of the supper, then the evil Judas, sickened by the love of money, becomes darkened, and betrays Your righteous Judge to the lawless judges. See, the steward of the property, who used strangulation for these sake: run away from the unsatiated soul of such a daring Teacher. O God of all, O Lord, glory to Thee.”
Great Heel Day dedicated to the memory of condemnation to death, the suffering of the Cross and the death of the Savior. In the service of this day, the Church, as it were, places us at the foot of Christ and before our reverent and trembling gaze depicts the saving suffering of the Lord. At Matins of Great Heel (served on Thursday evening), the 12 Gospels of the Testament of the Holy Passion are read.
There is no liturgy on Good Friday, since on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself, and the Royal Hours are celebrated.
Vespers is celebrated at the third hour of the day (14.00), at the hour of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, in remembrance of the taking down of the body of Christ from the cross and His burial. When singing the troparion: “Blessed Joseph, from the tree I dreamed the Most Pure Your body, wrapped it in a clean shroud, and covered it with stinks in a new tomb.(Translation: “The noble Joseph, having taken your most pure Body from the cross, wrapped it in a shroud and anointed it with fragrances, and laid it in a new tomb.”)” the clergy lift the Shroud (i.e., the image of Christ lying in the tomb) from the Throne, as if from Golgotha, and they carry it out from the altar to the middle of the temple, presenting lamps and burning incense. The Shroud is placed on a specially prepared table (tomb). Then the clergy and all worshipers bow before the Shroud and kiss the wounds of the Lord depicted on it: His pierced ribs, hands and feet. In the evening there is a second service with a religious procession.
The shroud is in the middle of the temple for three (incomplete) days, reminiscent of the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the tomb.
This is a day of strict fasting, when you cannot eat anything, at least until the Shroud is taken out. This is the day of the strictest fasting of the year.
On Holy Saturday(the service begins on the evening of Good Friday) The Church remembers the burial of Jesus Christ, the presence of His body in the tomb, the descent of His soul into hell to proclaim there victory over death and the deliverance of souls who were awaiting His coming with faith, and the introduction of the prudent thief into.
On Holy Saturday a liturgy is celebrated, beginning with Vespers. After the small entrance with the Gospel (near the Shroud), 15 parimias are read before the Shroud, which contain the main prophecies and prototypes relating to Jesus Christ, as having redeemed us from sin and death by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection. After the 6th parimia (about the miraculous passage of the Jews through the Red Sea) it is sung: “Gloriously be glorified.” The reading of the parimia concludes with the song of the three youths: “Sing to the Lord and exalt to all ages.” Instead of the Trisagion, “Those who were baptized into Christ” are sung and the Apostle about mysterious power Baptism. These singing and reading serve as a remembrance of the custom ancient Church baptize the catechumens on Holy Saturday. After the reading of the Apostle, instead of “Alleluia,” seven verses selected from the psalms containing prophecies about the Resurrection of the Lord are sung: “Arise, O God, judge of the earth.” While singing these verses, the clergy dress in light clothes. Instead of the Cherubic Song, the song “Let all human flesh be silent” is sung. At twelve o'clock at night, the midnight office is celebrated, at which the canon is sung Holy Saturday. At the end of the Midnight Office, the clergy silently carry the Shroud from the middle of the temple to the altar through the Royal Doors and place it on the throne, where it remains until the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, in memory of the forty-day stay of Jesus Christ on earth after His resurrection from the dead.
After this, believers reverently await the onset of midnight, when the bright Easter joy of the greatest Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ begins.
Easter joy is a holy joy, which is not and cannot be equal throughout the entire earth. It's endless eternal joy eternal life and bliss. It is precisely the joy that the Lord Himself said about: “Your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” ().
Days of Holy Week
Divine service
Liturgical features of Passion
- Nikolay Zavyalov.
- Hermogenes Shimansky.
- Priest Mikhail Zheltov.
Iconography
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Holy Week, or Holy Week is called the last week before Easter, dedicated to memories of last days the earthly life of the Savior, about His suffering, crucifixion, death on the cross, burial. This week is especially honored by the Church. “All days,” says the Synaxarion, “are surpassed by the Holy and Great Pentecost, but greater than the Holy Pentecost is the Holy and Great Week (Holy Week), and greater than the Great Week itself is this Great and Holy Saturday. This week is called Great not because its days or hours are longer (than others), but because during this week great and supernatural miracles and extraordinary deeds of our Savior took place..."
According to the testimony of St. John Chrysostom, the first Christians, burning with the desire to relentlessly be with the Lord in the last days of His life, during Holy Week intensified their prayers and intensified the ordinary feats of fasting. They, imitating the Lord, who endured unprecedented suffering solely out of love for fallen humanity, tried to be kind and lenient towards the weaknesses of their brothers and to do more works of mercy, considering it indecent to pronounce condemnation in the days of our justification by the blood of the Immaculate Lamb, they stopped all litigation and trials in these days , disputes, punishments, and even released for this time from chains prisoners in dungeons who were guilty of non-criminal crimes.
Every day of Holy Week is great and holy, and on each of them special services are held in all churches. especially majestic, adorned with wisely arranged prophetic, apostolic and evangelical readings, the most sublime, inspired chants and a whole series of deeply significant, reverent rituals. Everything that in the Old Testament was only foreshadowed or said about the last days and hours of the earthly life of the God-Man, the Holy Church brings all this into one majestic image, which is gradually revealed to us in the Divine Services of Holy Week. Remembering in the Divine Service the events of the last days of the Savior’s earthly life, the Holy Church watches every step with an attentive eye of love and reverence, listens attentively to every word of the Savior coming to the free passion of Christ, gradually leads us in the footsteps of the Lord throughout His entire Way of the Cross, from Bethany to Skull places, from His royal entry into Jerusalem to the last moment of His redemptive suffering on the cross, and further - to the bright triumph of Christ’s Resurrection. The entire content of the services is aimed at bringing us closer to Christ through reading and singing, making us capable of spiritually contemplating the mystery of redemption, for the remembrance of which we are preparing.
The first three days of this week are devoted to intensive preparation for the passion of Christ. In accordance with the fact that before his suffering Jesus Christ spent all his days in the temple, teaching the people, the Holy Church distinguishes these days with especially long Divine services. Trying to gather and focus the attention and thoughts of believers in general on the entire Gospel history of the incarnation of the God-man and His ministry to the human race, the Holy Church reads the entire Four Gospels on the clock during the first three days of Holy Week. The conversations of Jesus Christ after entering Jerusalem, addressed first to the disciples, then to the scribes and Pharisees, develop and are revealed in all the hymns of the first three days of Holy Week. Since in the first three days of Holy Week various significant events took place that are most closely related to the passion of Christ, these events are reverently remembered by the Holy Church on the very days on which they took place. Thus, the Holy Church these days relentlessly leads us following the Divine Teacher, with His disciples, now to the temple, now to the people, now to the tax collectors, now to the Pharisees, and everywhere enlightens us with the very words that He Himself offered to His listeners in these days. days.
Preparing believers for the Savior's suffering on the cross, the Holy Church gives the Divine service of the first three days of Holy Week the character of sadness and contrition for our sinfulness. On Wednesday evening, the Lenten Divine service ends, the sounds of weeping and lamentation of the sinful human soul fall silent in church hymns, and the days of another weeping come, permeating the entire Divine service - weeping from the contemplation of the horrific torment and suffering on the cross of the Son of God Himself. At the same time, other feelings - indescribable joy for one’s salvation, boundless gratitude to the Divine Redeemer - overwhelm the soul of a Christian believer. Mourning the innocent sufferer, mocked and crucified, shedding bitter tears under the cross of our Savior, we also experience inexpressible joy from the knowledge that the Savior crucified on the cross will resurrect us, who are perishing, with Himself.
Being present during Holy Week at church services, which represent all the events of the last days of the Savior as if taking place before us, we mentally go through the entire majestically touching and immensely edifying story of the suffering of Christ, with our thoughts and hearts “we descend with Him and are crucified with Him.” The Holy Church calls us this week to leave everything vain and worldly and follow our Savior. The Fathers of the Church composed and arranged the services of Holy Week in such a way that they reflect all the suffering of Christ. The temple these days alternately represents either the Upper Room of Zion, Gethsemane, or Golgotha. The Holy Church surrounded the services of Holy Week with special external grandeur, sublime, inspired chants and a whole series of deeply significant rituals that are performed only during this week. Therefore, whoever constantly attends services in church these days apparently follows the Lord, who is coming to suffer.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week are dedicated to the recollection of the Savior’s last conversations with his disciples and people. On each of these three days, the Gospel is read at all services; all four Gospels are required to be read. But whoever can, must certainly read these passages from the Gospel at home, both for himself and for others. Instructions on what to read can be found in church calendar. When listening in church, due to large quantity read, much can escape attention, but reading at home allows you to follow the Lord with all your thoughts and feelings. When you carefully read the Gospels, the suffering of Christ, coming to life, fills the soul with inexplicable tenderness... Therefore, reading the Gospel, you are involuntarily transported in your mind to the scene of events, you take part in what is happening, you follow the Savior and suffer with Him. Reverent reflection on His suffering is also necessary. Without this reflection, being present in church, hearing, and reading the Gospel will bring little fruit. But what does it mean to reflect on the sufferings of Christ, and how to reflect? First of all, imagine in your mind the suffering of the Savior as vividly as possible, at least in its main features, for example: how He was betrayed, judged and condemned; how He carried the cross and was lifted up to the cross; how he cried out to the Father in Gethsemane and on Golgotha and surrendered his spirit to Him: how he was taken down from the cross and buried... Then ask yourself why and for what purpose He who had no sin, and who, as the Son of God, endured so much suffering , could always abide in glory and bliss. And also ask yourself: what is required of me so that the Savior’s death does not remain fruitless for me; What must I do to truly participate in the salvation purchased at Calvary for the whole world? The Church teaches that this requires the assimilation by mind and heart of the entire teaching of Christ, the fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord, repentance and imitation of Christ in a good life. After this, conscience itself will answer whether you are doing this... Such reflection (and who is not capable of it?) surprisingly quickly brings the sinner closer to his Savior, closely and forever in a union of love connects him with His cross, strongly and vividly introduces him into the participation of the one who what happens at Golgotha.
The path of Holy Week is the path of fasting, confession and communion, in other words, fasting, for worthy communion of the Holy Mysteries on these great days. And how can one not fast in these days, when the bridegroom of souls is weaned (Matthew 9:15), when He Himself hungers at the barren fig tree, thirsts on the cross? Where else can one lay down the burden of sins through confession, if not at the foot of the cross? What better time to receive communion from the Cup of Life than in the coming days, when it is given to us, one might say, from the hands of the Lord Himself? Truly, whoever, having the opportunity to begin the Holy Meal these days, evades it, deviates from the Lord, runs away from his Savior. The path of Holy Week is to provide, in His name, help to the poor, sick and suffering. This path may seem distant and indirect, but in fact it is extremely close, convenient and direct. Our Savior is so loving that everything we do in His name for the poor, sick, homeless and suffering He takes personally to Himself. At His Last Judgment He will demand from us especially works of mercy towards our neighbors and on them He will establish our justification or condemnation. Keeping this in mind, never neglect the precious opportunity to alleviate the suffering of the Lord in His lesser brethren, and especially take advantage of it during the days of Holy Week - by dressing, for example, a needy person, you will act like Joseph, who gave the shroud. This is the main thing and accessible to everyone, with which Orthodox Christian in Holy Week he can follow the Lord who is coming to suffer.
Before Happy Easter We are about to celebrate Holy Week (we will tell you what you can eat on the days before Easter in the article). But what can you eat on a daily basis during this period?
Now we have to deal with this. For believers, this week is very important. During this period and until Easter, Christians pray and read the Bible. They remember Christ, who came to our Earth to cure us of various diseases, and left this world for our sins.
The fact is that throughout the week before Easter, not everything is allowed to be eaten. These 7 days are considered the strictest. From the first day to the seventh, every day is considered Great. During this important week, believers keep the strictest Fast.
Holy Week- this is a kind of memory of the last time of our savior and his terrible torment. During this week, people are rethinking their lives. Someone decides to repent, someone is simply in thought, and someone prays earnestly. This holy holiday means something different for everyone. This week the soul is cleansed of sinful thoughts. That is, abstinence occurs not only food, but also morally. During Holy Week you cannot be angry and swear - this is great sin, just like eating meat, washed down with wine.
What not to do during Holy Week
Great Monday. Finished everything renovation work around the house, cleaning construction garbage, they took out old, unnecessary things.
Great Tuesday. They finished repairing clothes, sewing, cutting, darning, ironing and the like. The meltwater collected this year was used to wash livestock to protect them from disease.
Great Wednesday. At night, from Tuesday to Wednesday, they took water from a river or well into a large jug or mug, and made the sign of the cross three times. At two o'clock in the morning they poured this water on themselves, leaving a little at the bottom, making the sign of the cross three times. Clean clothes were put on the wet body, and the remaining water was poured under a tree or bush. This meant the birth of a washed body and, according to signs, protected from illness for the whole year.
Maundy Thursday - or Maundy Thursday. Maundy Thursday falls on April 13th in 2017. Maundy Thursday or Maundy Thursday is the fourth day of Holy Week, the strictest week of Lent.
Swimming on Maundy Thursday has a symbolic meaning; on this day you need to wake up before sunrise and have time to swim.
It is believed that in this way, as in Epiphany bathing, a person washes away all his sins, and all ailments and illnesses will bypass him.
On Maundy Thursday you need to go to church for confession and communion. On this day, according to customs, it is customary to do things at home before Easter. general cleaning. It is after going to church on Maundy Thursday that you need to clean the house.
You need to clean very thoroughly, not superficially - you should wash all objects in the house, including the ceilings. There is a sign that if you clean your house well on Maundy Thursday, then the house will be clean for the entire next year. Again, cleanliness in the house will reflect the inner purity of the soul of a Christian believer.
In addition, it is necessary to wash all textiles and prepare traditional Easter food: Easter cakes and colored eggs.
Signs for Holy Week
It is on this day that you can get rid of many sins and improve your life. By following Easter signs and rituals, you can change your destiny for the better next year.
Here's what I know...
“If you want to be healthy all year round, be sure to take a swim before sunrise.” - Try it yourself and you will see that, indeed, this morning the water takes on wonderful healing properties. This water can wash away all the sins accumulated over the year.
Don’t indulge in laziness, but rather get up early on Maundy Thursday and wash yourself off in the shower, bath or bathhouse before dawn. If you cannot believe in the power of the magical Thursday water, then there will be no harm, cleanliness benefits everyone - both physical and mental.
There is a sure sign - if you do a spring cleaning on Maundy Thursday, you will receive a lot of joy for it.
In addition to the fact that the house will become clean, there is also such a religious element here that for six days after Maundy Thursday, religious people do not clean.
In addition, there is popular belief that when you start a general cleaning of the house, you receive as a gift from the Lord the opportunity to find what seemed to be forever lost beloved and necessary items.
From time immemorial it was believed that if during Maundy Thursday all the money in the house was counted three times, then it would not be transferred to the family during the year. Counting money should be done early in the morning, at noon and at sunset. This must be done in secret not only from strangers, but also from all members of your household. Only then will there be any benefit from performing this ancient ritual.
And here is the money plot on Maundy Thursday. If you wash your doors and windows with water containing change, then throughout the year your monetary income will grow by leaps and bounds!
The words of the conspiracy that need to be said when throwing a bucket or basin of water into a handful of coins:
“Money, keep it going - don’t transfer it, grow it, multiply it, don’t get it from the enemy!”
and any other prayer that you know well. After all the doors and windows in your house have been washed, remove the change from the water and place it in a distant, but pre-washed, corner of your house or apartment for a week. Pour the water under any tree.
Place any silver item in a container of water overnight. And in the morning, on Good Friday, wash your face with this water, and for a year no devilry you won't be afraid.
If there is a baby in your house under the age of one year, then this procedure is especially indicated for him, since he cannot yet protect himself with the help of holy prayer. Therefore, we should take care of its protection.
Quarter salt can be prepared in two ways:
The first way: go to three neighbors or friends and ask them for a handful of salt, then mix it, preferably in a clay bowl, and use it as needed. They say that when added to the food and drink of a seriously and even terminally ill person, Thursday salt can help heal him.
The second way to prepare Thursday salt is this: pour a pack of salt into a frying pan and fry it, stirring constantly, while reading the “Our Father.” You will feel the readiness of the salt yourself.
What happened day by day during Holy Week can be read in detail in the four Gospels, plus, if a person goes to church on these days, then at the sermons after the service one can learn a lot of interesting things about those events, as well as gain a deeper understanding of their interpretation.
This strict week of fasting is dedicated to the memories of the last days of the Savior’s earthly life, his suffering, crucifixion on the Cross, death and then burial. Each day of Holy Week is considered majestic and important. These days are perceived in Christianity as a Divine holiday, which is illuminated by salvation through suffering and death. On these days there are no remembrance services, no prayers are sung, and no liturgy is held on Good Friday.
Since the time of the apostles, this week has been especially revered by Christians. At the very beginning there was no long seven-week fast on the eve of the holiday, but strict fast Holy Week was established and strictly observed even then. This time, if you approach each day correctly, is filled with experiences, contemplation and sorrow.
What happened during the days of Holy Week
Maundy Monday
On this day they remember the Old Testament story about Patriarch Joseph the Beautiful. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him into slavery in Egypt, but Joseph was still able to live decent life and help the Egyptian people. Also on this day, they remember the withering that Jesus Christ spent on a fig tree covered with rich greenery. This plant has many leaves, but does not produce fruit.
In the same way, the scribes and Pharisees clearly presented their piety, but in fact they did not believe in the Lord and did not live according to the instructions of God. Likewise, the soul of a person who only outwardly believes will not bear spiritual fruit.
Maundy Tuesday
The Gospel records how on this day the Lord God Jesus Christ, already in Jerusalem, denounced the scribes and Pharisees. In the Jerusalem Temple, Jesus told parables and had conversations with ordinary people. It is a story about the future resurrection of the dead, about the Last Judgment.
Also on this day, Mary is remembered, who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. On this day in the Temple of Jerusalem, Judas showed great concern for the poor, revealing his compassion and already in the evening of that day he decided to sell Christ for thirty silver coins. At that time, with that kind of money it was only possible to buy a small piece of land near Jerusalem.
Great Wednesday
On this day of Passion Week, they remember the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. At the liturgy on this day, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is said for the last time. It is believed that this is the prayer that the laity should read every day throughout Lent.
Maundy Thursday
People know that this Thursday is also called Thursday, and you can prepare Thursday salt. But what exactly gospel events are remembered on this day? The Last Supper took place - the last supper of Jesus with his disciples, where he spoke about the fact that betrayal had already been completed and his arrest would take place tomorrow.
Good Friday
The most terrible day is the trial of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and death on Krsete. In the morning the 12th Gospel of the Holy Passion of Christ is read, in the evening the shroud is taken to the center of the temple. From this day until the end of the Easter service, according to strict church regulations, clergy must abstain from food.
Holy Saturday
Memories on this day are dedicated to the burial of Jesus Christ, his stay in the tomb. On this day, the soul of Jesus descended into hell in order to proclaim the victory of life over death and save sinful souls from suffering. Services begin early in the morning and continue throughout the day until Easter midnight.
These are the exact events that took place during Holy Week more than two thousand years ago, when the Savior lived and walked the earth, professed Christianity and gave people freedom from sins, hope for future life. During Holy Week, every Christian believer should try to lead a righteous life, give up entertainment, go to church or pray fervently at home. We hope that this period of fasting will be useful to you as a strong and correct spiritual preparation on the eve of the joyful holiday of Easter.
We are entering difficult days today: days when we remember the Passion of Christ, days when it will not be easy for us to come to church, endure long services, pray... What will happen in these days is not a dead memory of when something past; this is an event that is in the heart of our days, the life of our world and our life is based on it,
- Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh tells the portal Pravoslavie.Ru .
It is today that large-scale preparations for the holiday begin: on Holy Monday it is customary to clean the yard, whitewash the walls, get rid of large garbage and unused household items, and also fix everything that is broken in the house.
Moreover, “spring cleaning” should be carried out not only in the home, but also in the soul - on Holy Monday, many people come to rethink certain actions, and new ideas arise about resolving any difficult problems. life situations.
On Holy Monday, try to think and do only good things: get rid of all negativity from your head, do charity work... It is also advisable to attend church throughout Holy Week. For those who are fasting, it is recommended to eat raw vegetables and fruits, as well as honey and nuts.
Preparations for the bright holiday continue. On this day, the Savior’s sermons and parables are remembered, as well as his denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. It is necessary to eat on this day the same as on Maundy Monday.
On Wednesday it is worth remembering the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, as well as the sinner who washed with tears and anointed the feet of Jesus Christ with ointment. Christians also believe that confession has special power on this day, so many rush to repent of their sins on Great Wednesday. And in Rus' they believed that on Holy Wednesday, evil spirits were especially rampant, so many women refused to do needlework. They also eat on Wednesday, as on the previous two days - raw vegetables, bread, nuts and honey.
On Maundy Thursday, it is common for people to get up before sunrise and go to the bathhouse: it is worth remembering that bodily purity is no less important than spiritual purity. Also on this day it is worth completing the cleaning and decoration of the house: there is a popular belief that whoever thoroughly cleans the house on Maundy Thursday will receive as a gift from the Lord the opportunity to find lost objects dear to the heart that seemed impossible to find.
On this day, Orthodox Christians remember the most important gospel events: the Last Supper, Christ washing the feet of his disciples, the Savior’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and the betrayal of Judas.
It is also necessary to adhere to the same strict lean nutrition system.
It is forbidden to work on this day - people say that “on Good Friday even a bird will not make a nest.”
The culmination of Holy Week is a day of rest and remembrance of Christ's presence in the tomb. On Saturday, Orthodox Christians paint eggs and bake pies, Easter cakes and Easter cakes, after which they rush to church to bless these Easter treats.
On this day, the ceremony of the descent of the Holy Fire takes place in Jerusalem.
April 8 is the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ.
On this day, Orthodox Christians rush to congratulate each other, greeting passers-by with the words “Christ is Risen!”, and hearing in response - “Truly He is Risen!”
Easter Day ends Lent, therefore it is customary to cover abundant and delicious table. The meal begins with the head of the family dividing equally among all household members the Easter cake blessed the day before in the church. It is customary to cover the Easter table with a light tablecloth.
In Rus', folk festivals were held on this day: people visit each other, exchange treats and congratulations.
It is also worth remembering that the church does not approve of trips to the cemetery on Easter - a special day is established for this - Radonitsa, which falls on the 9th day after the Resurrection of the Lord.
When people visit a cemetery on Easter, there is, first of all, a break with church tradition, because Easter is the most joyful Christian holiday, it displaces all sorrow and sadness from the hearts of believers. It is customary to commemorate the dead on Radonitsa, but not on the Bright Day of Christ’s Resurrection, - the clergy emphasize.